Latest News from the Transport Research & Innovation Portal

We are very pleased to share the latest transport research and innovation news for the month of June. See below for recent activities from TRIP, EU Institutions, and the research community at large.

Enjoy reading!

New project profiles

See the latest
project profiles available in our searchable database, containing 7 524 European and national projects in total. New descriptions and result summaries are added continually.

New transport events

Find out what is going on in the world of transport research through the
TRIP events calendar. New event announcements are published regularly.

Submit your project

Whether you coordinate an EU-funded project
or undertake national research in your own
country - share your success and good practice
by posting your project's profile on the
TRIP website! You can
submit your project on the TRIP site.

TRIP Publications available in French and German

TRIP Transport Research Summaries as well as Policy Brochures, are produced in three languages: English, French and German. The following publications are now available in French and German on the TRIP website.

TRIP
is going to Rio

TRIP will be present at the WCTR - the World Conference on Transport Research, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro from 15 to 18 July 2013. TRIP will be the subject of a special session were the Portal, its features and functionalities, will be described to the audience. TRIP publications as well as several gadgets will be distributed to the participants.

This will be the 13 th edition of the WCTR conference. The conference, which takes place every three years, is organised on eight main topics areas, each one coordinated by a leading researcher. Besides the technical sessions, special sessions on topical issues, workshops and options for technical visits in Rio de Janeiro and other selected cities and regions across the country are organised.

'Historical' Agreement on the New TEN-T

On 30 May 2013, the Commission, the Council, and the Parliament signed an agreement on proposals to transform the existing structure of European roads, railways, airports and canals into a unified transport network (TEN-T). The resulting core network is agreed to be in place by 2030 and to serve as the backbone for transportation within the Single Market. The aim is to ensure that progressively, and by 2050, the great majority of Europe's citizens and businesses will take no more than 30 minutes' to reach the network from wherever they are located.

The new TEN-T will be financed by Member States, with some EU funding. The Connecting Europe Facility (for the period 2014–2020) for instance will also focus on this core transport network, filling in missing links, removing bottlenecks and improving the network overall.

The agreement, which Vice-President Kallas called ‘historic', must be formally approved by the European Parliament Plenary and Council.

Single Sky: Commission acts to speed reform of Europe's Air Traffic Control System

On 11 June 2013, the Commission proposed to update the regulations creating the Single European Sky (SES), and the rules governing the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The aim of the proposal, known as SES2+, is to lessen inefficiencies and external costs which result from Europe's fragmented airspace.

Themes in the proposal include measures to increase safety and oversight, and to improve air traffic management performance. The proposal also looks into new business opportunities in support services, such as meteorology, aeronautical information, communications, navigation or surveillance via competitive tender. Finally, a new setting and role for Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs) is proposed, to create more performing industrial partnerships. The role of the Network Manager (Eurocontrol) will also be strengthened to run centralised services in Europe in a more efficient way.

eCall: Automated Emergency Call for Road Accidents Mandatory in 2015

On 13 June 2013, the European Commission adopted two proposals to ensure that the ‘eCall' system is deployed in passenger and light duty cars. The objective is to have this system seamlessly functioning throughout Europe by 2015, with the coordination of Member States, car manufacturers, telecom operators and emergency centres.

The system makes sure that in case of a serious crash, cars will automatically dial 112, calling emergency services, communicating the vehicle's location.

The ‘eCall' system will help mitigate the consequences of serious road accidents across the EU. It is estimated that it could save up to 2 500 lives a year.

More information on eCall and the proposals can be found on the EU website.

20 Years of the Single Market Achievements in Transport – New Release

The European Commission has recently released a booklet highlighting the work it has done over the past 20 years to improve transport. The publication presents 20 examples of how Europe has made your lives easier and safer through better transport. Examples touch all transport modes (air, road, rail, sea) and present economic, environmental and social benefits achieved.

Call for Cities and Regions to Apply for E-Visionary Award

On 1 June 2013, the World Electric Vehicle Association (WEVA) launched a call for applications for its
E-Visionary Award. The prize recognises cities and regions as E-Visionaries for their initiatives to promote electric vehicles as a sustainable mode of transportation, and for making Electric Mobility a reality in the lives of their inhabitants.

Each member of the WEVA will select the winner for the part of the World they are covering. Applications from Europe and Africa will be evaluated by the European Association for Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Road Vehicles (AVERE). The Award will be presented at the International Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exposition (EVS27) on 17-20 November 2013 in Barcelona.

The deadline to apply is 1 September 2013 and full application details are available on the EVS27 website.

Paper on Motivating Mobility Mindsets in Cities

URBACT, a European exchange and learning programme of the EU, promoting sustainable urban development, has produced a new series of Thematic Reports, titled Cities of Tomorrow – Action Today. These reports provide evidence of sustainable urban development strategies to address six key urban challenges, including the challenge of facilitating the transition to a new urban mobility.

The URBACT report on ‘Motivating mobility mindsets' focuses on the quality of space, a new mindset, and the integration between policy priorities and multi-stakeholder buy-in. A'do-more-with-less' strategy is also highlighted.

More information and the full report are available on the URBACT website.

Finland releases the Second Generation Intelligent Strategy for Transport

The Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications has published a second generation intelligent strategy for transport, which follows the first one released in 2009. The new strategy further integrates intelligent transport into all other forms of transport and into Finnish transport policy. The aim is to develop a transport system in Finland that is one of the world's most progressive and efficient and is also known for its accountability.

The intelligent strategy facilitates increased transport information services, more productivity and efficiency of the transport system and encourages ICT innovations. It will be implemented with key projects running from 2013 to 2017.

Results of the EU-funded ON-WINGS Project now Available

The EU-funded ON-WINGS project has tackled the effects of ice on aircraft surfaces. Aircraft icing can be extremely dangerous and lead to fatal accidents. The project, coordinated by the GKN Aerospace in London, was concluded in December 2012 and resulted in a new and more efficient de-icing system that is better suited to the next-generation composite airframe structures.

The European Commission has devoted €2 800 000 to the On-Wings project over a total cost of €3 800 000.

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